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Table Tennis Equipment

Table tennis equipment is probably the number one area of table tennis I’m asked about. On this page, I’ll be linking to all of my equipment articles and sharing some of my favourite pieces of table tennis equipment.

My Favourite Retailers

For me, there are two stand-out specialist online table tennis retailers at the moment; Megaspin and Tabletennis11.

Megaspin: If you’re in the USA, I recommend using Megaspin.net. They offer North America’s largest selection of table tennis equipment and have been going since 1996.

Tabletennis11: For everywhere else, I like Tabletennis11.com as they have really great prices and offer free worldwide shipping on orders over €70. You also get an extra 25% off if your order is over €250!

Table Tennis Bats

Unfortunately, many of the top table tennis brands sell really bad quality pre-made table tennis bats. This makes the bat market a bit of a minefield for beginners. If you’d like to learn more about pre-made bats then I recommend reading my blog post, The Best Table Tennis Bat for Beginners. Otherwise, here are my favourite bats/rackets/paddles.

Palio Expert 2: The Expert 2 is the perfect bat for players learning the game and starting out. The new blade gives maximum control and great feeling while the high-quality CJ8000 rubbers allow for lots of spin. Read my full review here or buy an Expert 2 via Amazon.co.uk (£29.99) or Amazon.com ($39.99).

Palio Master 2: This is the next step up from the Palio Expert 2. It features the same CJ8000 rubbers but has a faster carbon blade. This is a great bat for players that want a combination of power and control. Read my full review here or buy a Master 2 via Amazon.co.uk (£34.99) or Amazon.com ($49.99).

Palio Legend 2: This is the most aggressive of the three bats. The Hadou rubbers are slightly harder and faster than the CJ8000. This makes the Palio Legend 2 the fastest bat but also the most difficult to control. Read my full review here or buy a Legend 2 via Amazon.co.uk (£39.99) or Amazon.com ($59.99).

The Palio Expert 2 Table Tennis Bat is currently the #1 best seller on Amazon.co.uk! It’s an amazing bat and is, in my opinion, the best you can get for under £30, anywhere. The Master 2 and Legend 2 are great bats as well, but a little more expensive.

Table Tennis Bat Cases

I’m always surprised by how many players spend a fortune on their bat/racket just to chuck it in their bag allowing the delicate rubbers to get damaged and increasing the chance of having to buy a new bat. If you are interested in learning more about bat cases check out my popular article, The Best Table Tennis Bat Cases. For now, here is my favourite bat case.

You can certainly buy a cheaper bat case but, for me, the Eastfield Original is worth every penny! I wonder how long it will be before the big table tennis brands start producing bat cases that look more like this and less awful!

Table Tennis Rubbers

Once you improve and start taking your table tennis training more seriously, you’ll need a custom table tennis bat. This means buying rubbers and a blade and glueing them together. Many table tennis shops provide this service free of charge, or you can watch my YouTube video going through the whole process, from start to finish, here.

Butterfly Tenergy 05: There are thousands of rubbers to choose from but for the last five years (basically ever since they were released) I’ve been using Tenergy 05 on both sides of my bat. The Butterfly Tenergy series of rubbers is by far the most popular among advanced and elite level table tennis players. Buy from Megaspin.net ($74.99).

Tibhar Evolution MX-P: I was sent a couple of sheets of MX-P to test and review in 2015 and I loved them. I found Evolution MX-P to be very similar to Tenergy 05 – it’s the best alternative I’ve found – and considerably cheaper. Read my full review here or buy via Tabletennis11.com (€44.90).

Table Tennis Blades

Choosing the perfect blade can be even more confusing than selecting rubbers. Table tennis blades can be expensive, but they usually last for many years while rubbers need to be replaced often. Therefore, you want to make sure you get one you like. I would definitely recommend trying out other people’s blades and bat combinations before making a decision.

Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit: This is the blade that I’ve been using for the past 5 years and it’s pretty popular among English players. Sam Priestley (from The Expert in a Year Challenge) plays with it and I think a lot of the English national team use it too. It’s a carbon blade that was designed for the European looping style of play. It has a great balance of speed and control. Read my full review here or buy from Megaspin.net ($134.99).

There are, of course, thousands of other blades and a Timo Boll Spirit isn’t going to suit everyone. For more information on selecting the right blade for you check out my popular article, The Best Table Tennis Blades.

There are many different ways to boost a rubber (and many different reasons for doing so). Whilst I certainly don’t encourage cheating here at Expert Table Tennis, I also strive to provide you with the best information regarding all aspects of the game. Unfortunately, boosting is a big part of modern table tennis.

Table Tennis Balls

Table tennis balls have changed! The old celluloid balls have been replaced by plastic balls, also known as poly balls. There have been some issues with quality and durability, so it is even more important you read my blog which identifies The Best Table Tennis Balls. Read the comments too! Lots of people have shared their opinions and experiences.

Xushaofa 3-Star: I am recommending the Chinese-made Xushaofa seamless balls over the Chinese seamed alternatives. I believe these are generally better quality and much more durable. All seamless balls are the same (regardless of what brand logo is stamped on them) as there is only one factory that produces them. Read my full review here. Buy a box of 12 balls from Megaspin.net ($29.95) or 6 balls from Tabletennis11.com (€9.90).

Hopefully, in the future, the quality of these new plastic balls will dramatically improve. At the moment, we really have no option but to do the best we can with the seamless balls. For more information on the new balls make sure you read my popular article The Best Table Tennis Balls.

Table Tennis Tables

I have written a very comprehensive blog post on The Best Table Tennis Tables which I would recommend you read if you are thinking of buying a table for your home, school, club or anywhere else really. I talk about all sorts of tables; indoor, outdoor, cheap, expensive, and also explain a little about the importance of table thickness and how to decide which table is best for you.

Butterfly Easifold Deluxe 22: This is currently my favourite table tennis table. Butterfly products are usually quite overpriced but the Easifold Deluxe 22 table is an absolute bargain. The table features a 22mm thick playing surface (which is practically competition standard), a sturdy undercarriage, and a top-quality Butterfly net. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£349.99).

Joola Inside: The Joola Inside has been the best-selling table tennis table on Amazon.com for as long as I can remember. It only has a 16mm playing surface, which isn’t ideal if you are looking to do some serious training, but for recreational use this table is excellent. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.com ($389.99).

Really, there is no such thing as the “best” table tennis table. It’s about picking a table that is right for you. If you just want a table for a bit of fun, then, by all means, buy one of the cheap ones. There is probably no need for you to spend loads of money. However, if you are looking to take your table tennis more seriously you might be disappointed if you don’t choose wisely. My article The Best Table Tennis Tables should help.

Table Tennis Nets

There is nothing worse than a rubbish net that is always falling off or sagging in the middle. It will ruin your game and probably drive you insane in the process! I’ve written a blog post looking at The Best Table Tennis Nets to help you choose a good one. Here are my favourites.

Tera Retractable: These retractable nets (sometimes called “rollnets”) are brilliant for using on any kind of table. This one can extend to 2m in length and will clip onto any surface less than 5cm thick. It also very good value. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£10.99) or Amazon.com ($11.96).

Butterfly Clip: Clip nets are great if you want something a little more serious which is still super easy to put on and take off the table. The Butterfly Clip has been a favourite among schools and clubs for years and if very good value. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£19.00) or Amazon.com ($36.66).

DHS P104: Tournament-quality table tennis nets are much stronger than clip nets and give you the option to easily adjust the tension and height. The DHS P104 is the cheapest tournament net I have found. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£47.06) or Amazon.com ($39.65).

If you shop around to find the best price you should be able to grab a rollnet for about £10, a clip net for about £20, and a tournament-quality net for £30-40. And don’t forget to check out my blog post The Best Table Tennis Nets.

Table Tennis Robots

A table tennis robot can be a great training aid, especially in the early stages of your development or if you can’t always find a suitable practice partner. For a more detailed overview of The Best Table Tennis Robots check out my blog post. Otherwise, here are three that I recommend.

iPong Topspin: This is the basic model from the iPong range of robots (sometimes rebranded as Joola). Basically, iPong is a company that decided to make basic but very affordable robots. They are not as advanced as many of the others, but they are much more reasonable price-wise. This model can only produce topspin. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£105.57) or Amazon.com ($51.99).

Practice Partner 20: This is a really affordable table tennis robot, but it also packs a lot of features! The Practice Partner 20 can produce topspin, backspin, sidespin or a combination. It can also place balls to a fixed position or oscillate between two positions. This is the robot we used for The Expert in a Year Challenge. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£384.81).

Practice Partner 50: The Practice Partner 50 is the robot I own. I’ve had it for about 8 years now and it’s still going strong! I’ve used it at home and now use it for coaching at school. The features are still quite basic (compared to some), but I think it gives you everything you need and because it’s free-standing you don’t need to keep refilling it with balls. Read my full review here. Buy from Amazon.co.uk (£712.45).

Training with a robot is not as good as playing against another player or working with a coach. However, they can be a great addition to your practice and help you to cement some of the techniques and skills you have started learning elsewhere. Before you buy a robot make sure you read my article The Best Table Tennis Robots.

Table Tennis Shoes

When buying table tennis shoes you only really have two options – you either go for some real high-quality shoes and pay quite a bit for them or you do what I do and raid the bargain bin of an equipment stand at a tournament. If you want to learn more, check out my blog post The Best Table Tennis Shoes. Otherwise, here’s my favourite pair of table tennis shoes.

As I said before, if you are after a cheap pair of table tennis shoes I normally find mine in the bargain bin at a tournament and they haven’t done me any harm! Otherwise, check out The Best Table Tennis Shoes for more information.

Table Tennis Books

Reading a table tennis book is a great addition to your practice. You can learn the theory from books, watch it in matches on YouTube, and then go out there and practice it yourself at your club. For more information on all of my favourite table tennis books please check out my article, The Best Table Tennis Books.

Sam and I spent about six months writing Expert in a Year: The Ultimate Table Tennis Challenge. It was a lot of fun reminiscing over our favourite moments from the year and thinking long and hard about the lessons to be taken from it. The book is very cheap on Kindle and has received lots of positive reviews on Amazon. Discover other table tennis books here.

Table Tennis DVDs

What’s better than a table tennis book? A table tennis DVD! Again, your choice is limited but here are my favourite table tennis training DVDs currently available to buy. To check out all of the table tennis training DVDs ever produced, have a read of my article The Best Table Tennis DVDs.

International Table Tennis Skills: Samson Dubina was kind enough to send me a free copy of his training DVD when it was first released in early 2015. I really impressed by how much technical information he had managed to squeeze into one DVD. I would recommend this to all intermediate players. Read my full review here. Listen to my interview with Samson here. Buy from Amazon.com ($59.99).

Shadow Training Loop Fundamentals: US coach, Brian Pace has been producing top quality table tennis training DVDs for years. However, I was particularly interested in this one because it uses shadow play to combine physical and technical table tennis training into a single workout. I spoke to Brian about the DVD in Episode #28 of the podcast. Buy from Dynamic Table Tennis ($29.99).

I reckon table tennis DVDs and online training courses will become a lot more popular in the future. To check out some of the other training DVDs available have a look at my article, The Best Table Tennis DVDs.

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links (which means that if you go through my link and purchase an item I receive a small commission). But rest assured I will never recommend a product I don’t think is high-quality and good value for money.

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